Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) has introduced legislation that seeks to ban critical race theory from being taught in public schools in Washington, D.C.
Grothman, who announced the measure on Friday, is accompanied by four GOP co-sponsors, including Reps. Ralph Norman (SC), Pat Fallon (TX), Bob Gibbs (OH) and Ronny Jackson (TX).
According to a press release from Grothman, the bill, dubbed the Ending Critical Race Theory in D.C. Public Schools Act, proposes that public and charter schools in D.C. be prohibited from requiring instruction on “ideas that promote race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating,” or that a person “bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.”
Grothman asked rhetorically in a statement:
How can we expect any child to succeed in life when we teach them that the deck is stacked against them and that they will forever be held back by racist oppressors. In 2019, America naturalized 843,000 citizens. In 2021, we are on pace to have the most people cross the Southern border illegally in more than a decade.
Grothman also insisted that critical race theory “teaches school children that America is a horrible country” and “to hate each other and hate their country,” making Americans “bitter and angry with each other”:
The purpose of this retelling of American history is to try to set American against American. Rather than share the wonderful gift we all have, to live the American Dream if we work for it, the goal of CRT is to make Americans bitter and angry with each other. In my experience, the people who are most strongly against demonizing America are people from non-European countries who are proud to have succeeded here and wonder why America, of all countries, would be teaching its children how bad we are.
Grothman concluded his statement on the matter by stating that critical race theory is “one more step toward demonizing our great country.” and suggested that “success is achieved in America by people from all different backgrounds.”
“This is what we should be teaching our children, because it is the truth,” Grothman said.
The D.C. Council objected to Grothman’s proposed legislation, writing in a tweet that schools in the district teach “Critical *State* Theory.”
“Actually, here in DC, we teach Critical *State* Theory: We are deeply Critical of people elsewhere telling us how to educate our own children in our own soon-to-be State,” the council wrote in a tweet. “How can they be so presumptuous? We have a Theory…”
More than 20 states, all of which enjoy GOP leadership — including Arizona, Arkansas and Texas — have produced legislation to prevent critical race theory from being a part of curriculum in public schools.
Most recently, on Tuesday Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that outlines how schools in the state should teach students about race and racism and prohibits the teaching of critical race theory.
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